Mobile Phones

Over the years, we have come to terms that the Apple iPhone is not the most powerful handset in the world. It has always had specs lower than to what its competitors offer. But yet, even after 7 long years, they enjoy the market dominance over their competitors.

I was lucky enough to get my hands on the iPhone 6, the very day it was launched in India. After 3 weeks of rigorous testing I have realized that not only is this phone much better than its predecessors but also built, stronger. Yes, to answer those who have asked me innumerable times if my phone “bends” or not, it does not.

At the outset

When I first held the phone, it certainly felt a lot lighter than the 5s. The space grey color looks classy whereas I felt the gold looks like a goldbrick. The silver reminded me of the shade of the iPhone 2. The metallic, almost ceramic body of the phone feels brilliant in the hand. The new design feels like the much needed change that was required since the iPhone 4. The faster processor, the new and improved camera and a much better battery life, all created a top notch impression on my mind. The increased resolution and screen size also do justice to the package that Apple has assembled for their flagship phones. The curved design is a reminiscence of the old iPhone’s, which is amazing.

Review

Packed with the new A8 processors, the iPhone 6 is certainly fast and also offers tremendous performance when you push the phone to its limits while multitasking and gaming. I play FIFA 15: Ultimate Team on it, and it’s just wow. Apple claimed that there would be a 25 percent boost in speed and 50 percent boost in graphics when compared with the earlier A7 processor.

In terms of the design, the switch to metal body is more than welcome. Also the lock button being shifted to the side takes some time to get used to. The transition from circular buttons to elongated flat ones is more than welcome. The touch id works exactly like the one in 5s, which is flawless. It can still be used with one hand, which several feared would not be possible.

iPhone 6’s 4.7-inch IPS display looks vivid, rich, and as good as that on the iPhone 5 or 5S, just bigger. But not that much bigger. The display’s 1,344×750-pixel resolution is higher than the other iPhones. A grid of six-by-four apps fits on each page the dock below, for 28 total: on the 5’s 4-inch display, it’s 24. There are more pixels horizontally and vertically, unlike the merely vertical lengthening of the iPhone 5. That also means the aspect ratio’s the same, and videos and Web pages scale similarly.

When we ran benchmark tests, the results for the iPhone 6 were phenomenal. We compared it to iPhone 6 Plus, Galaxy S5, HTC One M8 and Motorola Moto X. On Linpack Multithread, iPhone 6 showed results much better than any other phone. On Geekbench 3 too it beats all the other phones with a margin. On 3D Mark Ice Storm, it loses out to all the other phones.

The call quality is a lot better and in terms of connectivity the Wi-Fi speeds have become much better. The Camera quality has improved too. Although, they stuck to the 8 megapixel camera, the new sensor which uses “focus pixels,” does a far better job at avoiding out-of-focus shots. One of the most significant improvements is in the video recording department. Video-recording speeds can be set at 60fps now, which gives a more immediate crispness for high-speed action. Slow-motion video recording can be set to 120 or 240 frames per second. File sizes get high at 240fps. The front facing camera has had a subtle boost too.

Final Words

Overall, I would have never imagined an iPhone being this big. But the big screen is a welcome change. Personally, I would not buy the phablet sized iPhone 6 Plus ever. It truly is the type of a phone which an android loyalist too would get tempted to buy.

A 4.7-inch screen isn’t massive to most smartphone users, but iPhone owners may need time getting used to. But the good news is, really, that the new phones are more like size alternatives than must-have upgrades. If you consider the 5S, the 6, and the 6 Plus as 4-, 4.7-, and 5.5-inch siblings, there’s a size for everyone. Apple’s clearly in the screen game now, making iOS devices at all sizes and comfort levels. The new iPhone 6 isn’t a giant leap in speed or graphics, from what I’ve seen. But its screen size makes a difference, and it is the perfect current middle ground for performance, new features, and pocketability. And while it also seems a little more like an Android phone than ever before, that’s a very good thing.

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